– The top of the 11th inning in Reds/Phillies: Kyle Kendrick strikes out Stubbs, Brandon Phillips HBP. JC Romero replaces Kendrick. Votto walks. Phillips picked off second (!!!!). Rolen walks. Bruce walks, to load the bases. David Herndon comes in and gets Ramon Hernandez to ground out.
— This after the teams exchanged solo home runs in the tenth inning.
— Reds shortstops are three for their last 68, and currently hitless in their last 24 at-bats.
—- Many hours later update: so… this game went nineteen innings.
—– The winning pitcher was Wilson Valdez. As in the Phillies’ position player Wilson Valdez. He got this win by retiring the middle of the Reds’ lineup in the top of the nineteenth. Valdez is the first position player to pitch and get a win since Brent Mayne of the Rockies on August 22, 2000.
—— The losing pitcher was Carlos Fisher, who threw five innings of one-run relief, throwing 90+ pitches. #dustybaker
——- Wilson Valdez now has as many wins this year as Chris Carpenter and Mat Latos, and more than Ubaldo Jimenez or John Danks.
——– random weirdness: Raul Ibanez was 1-for-8 with a triple and a walk-off sac fly.

– Another West Coast update: the Giants just tied it up with four runs in the bottom of the ninth against the Marlins. Whoah. Let’s play nineteen here too, boys!

– Zack Greinke home run.
— and that’s not his first career homer, either.

– Jo Jo Reyes lost to the Yankees today. That’s his 28th consecutive winless start, tying a Major League record. (Update: Wilson Valdez has more wins than him since June 2008.)
— speaking of the Blue Jays, h/t @d_a_cameron, Jose Bautista’s slugging percentage is higher than Edwin Encarnacion’s fielding percentage.
— but maaaybe this isn’t so unpredictable.

– There are three pitchers with a K/9 above ten. They are Cliff Lee (okay), Matt Garza, and Bud Norris.
— Pineda leads the AL with a 9.4. By the way, Edinson Volquez and his 5.54 FIP, currently hanging out in AAA, also has a 9.4 K/9. Second in the AL is Scott Baker, at 9.1 – a Twin!!

– With one out and runners at second and third in the second inning at Wrigley, Justin Berg came in to relieve the Cubs’ starter, who had already given up four runs. Berg threw twelve straight balls to load the bases and then force in two runs, while not getting an out.

– Thanks to SB Nation for pointing this out to me. Neftali Feliz got the save in today’s 2-1 Texas win over the White Sox. He gave up no hits, but walked two. He has ten saves (after spending a while on the DL) and a 1.12 ERA… and 14 walks to only eight strikeouts.
— He’s a RHP who has walked eleven RHB and struck out none (!!!!!!!!!!).

– The Red Sox scored twelve runs off the Indians, in Cleveland!
— Jarrod Saltalamacchia home run.
— He has more home runs than Dustin Pedroia or Carl Crawford. Now neither of those guys is really a power hitter, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

One Response to Daily Roundup, 05/25/11

Why is that so surprising? Salty’s always been viewed as being more valuable for his bat than for his ability behind the plate. That’s why he’s the starter and Jason Varitek, who is still one of the best signal-callers in the game even though he can no longer produce on offense as an everyday player or throw out potential base-stealers at a very high rate, is the backup.